Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia
Gambia: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 83.1% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia, 1820–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Gambia recorded 83.1% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2025. That is the highest value across all 78 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia peaked at 83.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1820.
That places Gambia 175th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1830s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 2 |
| 1840s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 2 |
| 1850s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 2 |
| 1860s | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 2 |
| 1870s | 3.9% | 3.4% | 4.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 6.2% | 5.5% | 6.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 9.7% | 8.6% | 10.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 12.2% | 11.2% | 13.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 8.4% | 7.8% | 9.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 5.8% | 5.2% | 6.5% | 2 |
| 1930s | 4.2% | 3.8% | 4.6% | 2 |
| 1940s | 5.9% | 5.5% | 6.3% | 2 |
| 1950s | 8.6% | 7.1% | 10.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 14.5% | 10.0% | 19.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 22.5% | 18.1% | 31.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 46.6% | 35.7% | 52.0% | 7 |
| 1990s | 47.6% | 40.1% | 59.7% | 6 |
| 2000s | 59.3% | 55.5% | 64.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 69.6% | 62.0% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.5% | 81.0% | 83.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More education data for Gambia
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 39.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.4% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers 13,495 (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 3.91 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 108.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia was 83.1% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 83.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1820.
- How does Gambia rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Gambia ranks 175th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Gambia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 78 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.